I'd rather be having a quiet drink... and can be followed on Twitter @alcothusiast; and friended on Untappd (handle: "neilcake" - all welcome).

Tuesday, 8 December 2015

Christmas Themed Beers

Continuing my odyssey of beer
exploration,this week I try to embrace the joys of Christmas…

generic stouty beer pic

Each year I notice Aldi
gets in special Christmas themed beers, and last year I bought one because it
would count towards my distinct beers challenge. Generally though, I found
the way the beer industry tries to tailor itself to different holidays or
events… a bit annoying. Especially Christmas though. In the same way that the
media seems to think the only music you want to listen to at Christmas are 20
Christmas themed hits from the past and things that involve chimes, jingling
sounds and choirs of children, and restaurants think that you want turkey and
things with cranberry sauce, the alcoholic drinks industry seems to think you
want irish cream (which, frankly, you do), gluhwein
(which, should be banned), port (likewise), eggnog (which, excuse me North America, is minging) and beer that
tastes a bit spicy because that represents the flavour of Christmas pudding.

Look, can we have a
rule here? If you don’t want it at any point during the rest of the year, you
can’t have it at Christmas because, clearly it ain’t so special. Here are a few
examples to illustrate this.

Mince pies. I like
mince pies, but you can only get them at Christmas. Why? I’ll tell you why:
would you buy them at any other time of the year? No, because there’s only so
many you can eat, and you eat both of those at Cristmas. So we don’t need em.

Turkey. Look, turkey’s
just a massive, dry, tasteless chicken. I get that you tend to have more people
to feed at Christmas so you need something bigger, but can I suggest goose
instead?

Christmas pudding.
What is this even for? Let’s pour a shitload
of brandy on to a cake and set it on fire! Howabout, let’s drink the brandy
and get a cake in that peple actually like? And if you like fire: cigars.

Gluhwein. Hot
alcoholic cordial. Are you shitting me?

Band Aid. I just
don’t know how I feel about this anymore, except I have an instinctive aversion
to it.

Walnuts in shells.
Why do people want to crack their own nuts at Christmas?

Christmas trees.
Taking up space, presenting a fire hazard.

Works dos.
I’ve covered these in an earlier post, and I can’t remember what I said about
them. I might’ve been trying to be positive that day, but it’s more llkely I
was sarcastic and disparaging. So I’m just going to say, if no one wants to go
out with everyone they work with on a
regular basis, it’s inhumane to make them
do it in a shit bar or restaurant where a number of the previously
mentioned examples are likely to be present and a bunch of other works are on dos at the same time.

TV Christmas
specials. I know you can’t show Christmas specials at any other time of the
year, but really: they’re all the same. Maybe if I was a kid, wall to wall
Christmas themed TV would ramp up my excitement even further, but I’m not. I’m
an adult. I don’t need to see popular chat show hosts and comedy characters
dressed as Father Christmas. I don’t need to know anything about elves (unless
it stars the delightful Will Ferrell), angels (unless it’s It’s a Wonderful Life), reindeer, or ghosts of Christmas past,
present or twatting future. You get me?

Which brings me
back… to Christmas themed beer. I would normally avoid these like anything with
Piers Morgan in it (unless it was Piers Morgan being dunked repeatedly in a
bowl of shit), but as I said, the distinct beers challenge (coupled with the
arrival of Christmas) convinced me to just try all the Christmas beers. In the
same way that I decided to read one of Piers Morgan’s books just to confirm how
much of a bellend he is, I decided to try all the Christmas themed beers I
could find to confirm it’s pointless. Let’s see shall we, what they’re like and
whether there are any thematic similarities?

As I got started on
this, it actually turned out that there weren’t actually that many Christmas themed beers, though I did come across a lot of
things that were termed Winter Ales.
I decided to look up what this was, and found that it tends to refer to things
like stouts and porters because they often aren’t available in summer. It may
be true that they aren’t always available in the summer, but as we’ll see, a
lot of the winter ales I came across weren’t actually stouts or porters. Similarly,
I don’t see all that much that can be deemed wintry about some of these ales. But nevertheless, a-delvin’ we
will go. [it turns out that plenty of stouts and porters are available in the
summer months. A look at the bottles available at Urmston’s Prairie SchoonerTap House on the 5th of June revealed there were no less than 10
porters or stouts in stock. It also turns out that the existence of winter ales stems more from the kind of
beers that could be brewed in winter
– you know, like in the old days – rather than any thematic intentions.]

I bought the rest of
the Christmas themed ales that were available from Aldi and a few that I could
find in Tesco. Asda didn’t have any Christmas
themed beers at all, which I found very odd. I did pick up some winter ales in
Sainsburys, and elsewhere, I tried to buy Christmassy or winter ales whenever I
went to the pub – which is quite a lot in December for the various band
Christmas dos, golf Christmas dos, work Christmas dos…

First was Wychwood’s
Bah Humbug which has 5 ABVs
(though the website claims there are only 4.3) and features a cartoon impression
of Scrooge on the label in the inimitable Wychwood goblin style. I’m quite a
big fan of the Hobgoblin – probably their most famous product – and I can see
I’ve given Bah Humbug with its spicy fruit flavours 3 stars. That’s not bad –
in fact I have to admit I rather enjoyed it.

I see Wychwood
actually do a whole host of seasonal ales – one for each month. I don’t know
whether to be moderately impressed or incredibly annoyed about that. I’ll
decide later. It is later; I have decided now that I like it, as it means there
are more distinct beers to look out for.

Next was St Peter’s Christmas Ale, which
comes in a snazzy flask with a label that depicts a typical cottagey British
winter scene. It’s a hearty 7% and is described as smooth, fruity and
full-bodied; the perfect companion for Christmas savouries, sweets and snacks. I scored it an average 3 out of 5.

I see St Peter’s
also have a slightly extended range of seasonal beers, including a winter one
and they all come in that impossibly cool flask.

Jenning’s Redbreast
contains four and a half ABVs
and rather than showing a lady’s sunburnt bosom on the label, comes adorned
with the slightly more predictable image of a robin in a hat and scarf,
whistling out a few notes. This is Jenning’s’ December release, the January one
being Cockle Warmer, which I expect
I’ll get to shortly. I scored the Redbreast another average 3.

On entering Yule Love It! Into Untappd, I was
surprised to find three other beers going by that name. That suggests a dearth
of imagination, doesn’t it? Nevetheless, this one is by Thwaites Brewery and clocks up a stilted 4% ABV. It is described
simply as an amber Christmas ale and I can’t really add anything to that, other
than that I actually scored this an extra half a star on the others, making it
the best so far. You might take that with a pinch of salt though, as other
Untappd members thought it had a generic hoppy taste with a hint of water or
that it was tasteless. I thought the hoppyness was actually an improvement on
the blandness of all the other Christmas themed ales I’d tried so far. As for a hint of water… all beers contain that
– usually up to around 95%.

Hardys &
Hansons Rocking Rudolph notches
4.2 ABVs and is part of Greene King’s
seasonal ale range. A cartoon reindeer with an Elvis wig and a guitar
(hilarious), potentially bursting out of a snowglobe decorates this one… and
it’s back down to 3 stars because extra points are not awarded for the number
of components an image possesses.

Old Miserable Git, another by Thwaites is the second beer in
our list to reference those of us who might have a slightly grumpier reaction
to Christmas. That doesn’t mean I appreciate it anymore than the others – in
fact, I don’t. It’s another 3 stars. It’s 4.1% and is presented with a cartoon
image of a cigar chewing grouch.

Christmas Plum
Pudding from JW Lees is quite different. It’s 4.8%
and described by the brewer as “Christmas in a glass”. It sure is fruity and
smooth and I have to say a little odd tasting. It went down quite easily though
(as in fact did all the pints I had on the evening I consumed this one), and I
was enjoying it by the end. I only gave it a 3 though.

With Sainsburys Taste The Difference Celebration
Ale by Black Sheep (6% ABV), the supermarket giant has adopted branding
that belies its own brand identity.
In fact, through a set of uninteresting circumstances I came into possession of
two more Taste the Difference offerings
in the form of the equally well branded American
Pale Ale and Tap Room IPA(both by
Genesee Brewing Company). I’m not sure how I feel about this since I tend to
avoid own brands wherever possible (unless I’m in the market for cheap
spirits), but you’ve got to give them credit for sourcing these products from
reputable brewers. That they make no secret of who the brewer is encourages one
to buy, but also to feel cheated when one realises one has paid full price for
a supermarket own brand… of sorts – which wouldn’t be a problem if the products
were any good, but these aren’t. While I should only be concerning myself with
the product that is described as “a rich, dark winter warmer” on its label,
it’s worth mentioning that I scored all three a derisory 2 stars out of 5. The
American Pale Ale in particular I remember recoiling in horror at a weak and
toiletty aftertaste.

Conclusions

Out of all of the
beers listed above, only the Celebration
Ale proclaimed itself a stout or porter (stout, to be precise). I did drink one
or two of that ilk over the period, but they weren’t labelled Christmas or Winter ale, so I don’t think you can count them.

What have we learned
then? Well, you can correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I can see, as long
as it is an ale and not a lager, there’s nothing to stop something from being classed
as a winter or Christmas-themed ale. As long as you can convince people it is
rich, spicy or warming and you stick a wintry scene on the label or call it a
comical wintry name, you’re all right. If you want a more informative,
fact-laden account than I can [be bothered to] give you, try this link.
The thing is, despite the traditional origins of winter ale and the seasonal
nature of what is called Winter Ale,
it seems to me that you can buy similar products all year round – these days at
least. Now that I’ve done my initial research, I suppose it’s time to put that
to the test – at least it will be when it ain’t winter no’ mo’. [I can confirm
that I did manage to buy a winter ale in July, Dunham Massey’s Winter Warmer, though I don’t remember
where I got it from.]

As ever, I’m learning as I go along, and hopefully you’re
having a nice time and can say you’re learning with me. Sure, you could go to
someone who already knows all about it, but how much fun would that be?
Exactly. No fun at all.

This then, marks my
last post of the year. I hope you’ve had fun joining me on my various
adventures. I’ll be back in the new year as ever, returning with a run down of
my favourite three spirits from 2015. In the meantime, if you need something to
read, I’m sure there are plenty of backposts you haven’t read. I promise
though, that there will be plenty more to read about in the new year. Till
then, have a great Christmas.

3 comments:

Gluhwein has its place, and it's in Bavarian Christmas markets, nowhere else. Getting merry drinking gluhwein mixed with obstler in lovely crisp snowy settings (not miserable UK grey dampness) with friends is a pleasure that everyone should experience. Erdinger do a lovely winter ale called Schneeweisse, when I lived in Erding I seem to remember that they only release it November-February, and it doesn't travel well, or they want to keep it to themselves. Gits.

Thanks for visiting Paul, and for sharing your view on gluhwein. I'm afraid I've only tried it in miserable UK grey dampness, but I'm open to trying it somewhere authentic. I'll also keep an eye out for the Schneeweisse.

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Alcothusiast:

Not an alcoholic, someone who appreciates booze.

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The uneasy feeling that accompanies any noteworthy hangover.

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The propensity people have to go nuts whenever there's a free bar.

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About Me

Neil Cake is interested in all types of booze, but is by no means an authority or expert. Most of the time he's just trying to be funny, but he is learning, and enjoys sharing his adventures and what he learns on the Drink it How You Like it blog.
Thengyuverrymuuuuuch.